Untitled Remedy STOPPED
by TheAgonyofBlank
Summary: AU. Willow is a famous actress Tara is a famous writer. What will happen when the both of them meet? I STOPPED WRITING THIS.
1. The Writer, The Actress

Title: Untitled Remedy  
Author: S'rah/TheAgonyofBlank  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary/Notes: AU. Willow Rosenberg is a famous actress in her 20s living in Sunnydale. Tara Maclay is a somewhat famous writer who's just moved to Sunnydale. I used British English for this fic.  
Disclaimer: Psht. Not mine.  
Spoilers: There may be some from S1-S7... **Only relevant difference is Willow has never met Tara, and Anya never died.**  
Distribution: Ask and you might receive. :)  
Feedback: Please. Flames will be ignored.

---

Tara sat alone at the Espresso Pump with her laptop and a coffee in front of her and her bag on the bar stool next to hers. She had been here for about fifteen minutes now, but she had spent most of the time staring blankly at the laptop screen and racking her brains for good ideas. After a little while, an idea came to her head and she began working. Occasionally, the blonde-haired woman would pause in the midst of her typing to take a sip of her still-warm coffee, but mostly, her fingers danced gracefully across the keyboard as letters appeared on the screen one-by-one, each of them helping to tell the story she had to tell.

Tara Maclay was a somewhat famous author who already had two books about magick and witchcraft published; one of them fiction, the other non-fiction. Writing just came to her naturally, and she could write a well-written story about nearly anything in no time at all. She had just spent most of the morning and early afternoon finishing unpacking in her newly-bought three-bedroom house in Sunnydale and had decided to reward herself by going to the Espresso Pump to get a coffee.

"Hey... Umm... Excuse me, but is anyone sitting here?"

Tara's fingers stopped dancing across the keyboard as she was addressed, and the blonde woman tore her blue eyes away from the screen to face the woman who was speaking to her. She surpressed a gasp as her eyes met the greenest eyes she ever had the pleasure of seeing, and she opened her mouth to speak. However, words were surprisingly failing her, and she just shut her mouth again, trying to figure out why this woman looked so familiar to her.

"I guess so. Sorry to bother you."

As the woman with the green eyes turned to leave, Tara realized she didn't want her to go and quickly reached out and grabbed the woman's arm gently, before abruptly jerking it back as she felt a surge of... power? pass between the both of them. _Is she a witch, too? That's some power she has there..._ Clearing her throat, Tara took her bag off the stool and replied with a slight stutter, "N-no. Feel free to take a seat."

"Oh, you sure?" the red-haired woman with the green eyes replied. _Please say you're sure._

"Y-yes. It's no problem."

"Thanks..." the emerald-eyed woman replied, flashing Tara a bright smile as she took her seat and started on her slice of lemon-iced cake.

Tara smiled shyly in reply, and as a moment of uncomfortable silence passed between the two women, Tara lowered her head and turned back to her laptop, tapping her chin thoughtfully for a short moment before her fingers resumed the familiar yet different dance across the keyboard. She paid no attention to the red-haired woman next to her, who was curiously sneaking glances at her - and her laptop screen.

"What are you writing?" came the emerald-eyed woman again, and a slight pause ensued before she continued, babbling now, "Umm... Not that you have to tell me, 'cos I'm being nosy a-and what you write is your business, right? Sorry. I won't ask again. I'm babbling, aren't I? I tend to do that a lot - babble, I mean... It's a habit I-"

"Babbling's okay," Tara smiled kindly at the babbling redhead. _Besides, you're sort of cute when you babble... Hang on there, Maclay. This is someone you barely know... You've got to stop hitting on people you hardly know..._ Making herself snap out of her thoughts, Tara decided it best to introduce herself, "I'm, uh, Tara Maclay, by the way."

"Tara Maclay?" _Now where have I heard that before?!_ "I'm Willow. Willow Rosenberg."

"Oh! You're... the a-actress..." Tara stated rather lamely and shot Willow a sheepish look. So _that_ was why the redhead had looked so familiar; she'd seen her once or twice in the occasional movie advertisement. Then she couldn't help but let out a giggle, "I never t-thought I'd meet an actress. Or that you'd live... here."

"Well, I guess you proved you wrong," Willow grinned cheerfully in reply, but in the back of her mind, she was still trying to figure out why the name Tara Maclay sounded familiar. That was when it hit her, and the actress exclaimed excitedly, "Oh! Oh! I know you! Not really, but technically, anyway. You write those books! Or, well, I've only read one, but they're both supposedly really good..."

"Thanks," Tara replied, a blush creeping onto her face.

"So, is that a new book you're working on? Actually, don't answer that, because I said I wouldn't ask again, and I did... And that's not very nice of me..." Willow allowed her voice to trail off, and a small frown crossed her face for a moment. She then fell back to eating a bit more of her cake.

"N-no, you're nice," Tara smiled encouragingly, causing Willow's cheeks to flush red, "And yes, this is a new book I'm working on. I heard that, you know, Sunnydale's an interesting place to live in. Lots of weird stuff happens here, or so I heard, anyway. Is that true?"

"Er," Willow began, not sure what she should tell Tara. After all, telling her, 'Oh, yeah, my friends and I see vampires all the time' would be kind of freaky. "Definitely weird, from an outsider's perspective, I think. Did you just move here?" Because there was no way Willow would not have noticed if this beautiful blonde had been here for a while... Then again, she had just returned from her most recent movie production the day before, so the blue-eyed woman could have moved in ten weeks ago, and she wouldn't have known.

"Yes. Last week," Tara replied, "I just got everything unpacked and where I want them."

"Oh," Willow said, and then, with a hopeful tone, continued, "So, you're pretty much free tonight?"

"Um-"

"I just wanted to invite you over for dinner at my place. But if you're busy, that's fine."

"I'm free," Tara replied softly, "I'd love to join you for dinner."

"Great. I'd love to have you," Willow replied, and then paused for a moment before correcting herself, "Uh, I mean, have you over. Not have you, have you." _Goddess, Willow, you are such a dork! Who could make such a mistake? No one - except for yourself._

"It's okay. I got it," Tara smiled. _She is so cute!_

"Right. Here... I'll write you my address..." Willow said as she got out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down her address and handed the piece of paper to Tara, asking, "You know where that is?"

"Yes."

"All right," Willow smiled happily, finishing off the last bit of her cake. "I'll see you around... seven?"

"Seven's good. See you," Tara smiled.

"Yeah. See you," Willow replied, giving Tara another smile as she turned to leave.

---

"Wills, I hate to break it to ya, but I don't think your house could be any cleaner than it already is," Xander informed his best friend of twenty-three years, giving her his trademark "relax; you'll be fine" smile as he fluffed up one of the pillows on the black couch. He and the rest of the Scoobies had been helping Willow tidy her place up ever since she'd called them to help her out earlier in the afternoon, and he knew it was safe for him to assume that he wasn't the only one getting tired of all this cleaning.

"Yes. Xander's right. Why do we have to help Willow clean, anyway? It's not like she's paying us. And why can't she clean all this herself?" Anya, seeing no problem with being her usual and direct self, enquired.

"Hello? Standing right here?!" Willow exclaimed heatedly.

"Well, you should at least give us-"

"Both of you, don't you even _dare_ continue that argument, or I'll... do something. Something _bad_," Buffy said helpfully with much emphasis, interrupting Anya and managing to prevent the two women from arguing. She wasn't in the mood to hear anyone argue tonight, because frankly, she was sick of all the arguing that went on daily. Turning her attention onto Willow, Buffy continued, "Besides, Will, what's up with the cleaning? I mean, you never do that when we're over. Why does this woman get the special treatment?"

"This is a real guest, Buffy," Willow said, rolling her eyes when she received a mock-shocked look from Buffy, "Come on. You guys are like... my old, young, good friends. This is someone I just met. She just moved into town, so I thought, you know, it'd be nice if she had some friends. Plus, it's better if she doesn't think of me as a slob before she even knows me."

Buffy snorted at that, and Xander and Dawn wore amused looks on their faces. Anya just folded her arms across her chest and waited for the conversation to go on.

"Oh, goddess," Willow, simply choosing to ignore her dear friends and look at the clock instead, exclaimed loudly with a hint of panic in her voice,"It's five-thirty! You guys! We haven't even started with the cooking! And I need to take a shower before Tara comes over!"

"Willow, calm down," Dawn said reassuringly, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, "Look, we can do the cooking for your Lady Love. Just relax, take your shower, and if you're done quickly, you can help cook, too."

"You're right. Calm down, and take the shower," Willow repeated, sending Dawn a smile while blatantly ignoring the younger girl's referral to Tara. As she rushed upstairs to take her shower, she paused long enough to say, "Thanks, guys."

Xander made sure Willow had left before he turned his attention on Dawn, making a small face, "You know, you really shouldn't have told her she could cook if she was early from the shower." He noticed Dawn was giving him her usual "it's not like you can do any better" look, and he added, "Don't give me that look; at least I know I can't cook. Now, Wills, she thinks she can cook when she... can't, really."

"She's always like this when a pretty lady comes over... I just thought I might encourage her..." Dawn explained.

"Well, don't do that again," Anya said sensibly as she remembered the last time she tried Willow's cooking, "I don't want to eat _her_ cooking again."

Everyone couldn't help but grin; they knew how true it was.

"Let's go a-cooking," Buffy said as she headed for the kitchen, "No time for us to waste, or our witch will get angry."

"And perhaps get even more spastic," Dawn added helpfully and jokingly as the rest of the Scoobies followed the two Summers sisters into the kitchen.

---

Not wanting to be late for the dinner (or anything Willow planned, really, she knew), Tara kept an eye on the clock as often as possible. A small frown creased her face as she held up different outfits in front of her, looking at the mirror and trying to find which outfit would be the right one for this evening. Finally, she settled on a blue top and a long, deeper-blue (compared to the shirt) skirt. She pulled her hair into a bun and then checked the clock one last time.

Six forty-five.

Perfect, she thought as she headed out of the door.

---

"It's six fifty-five! Six fifty-five! She's due in five minutes!" Willow exclaimed excitedly, and Dawn could have sworn that the redhead was on the verge of bouncing on the spot.

"See? That's exactly why I told you guys not to tell her when it's seven. It's not even seven yet, and look how excited she is already!" Buffy said knowledgeably, earning chuckles from the rest of the Scoobies and a glare from Willow that she easily ignored.

Knock. Knock.

"Oh, goddess! Is that her? That must be her! Do I look okay? Is my outfit okay? Do I look like a dork? Goddess, I bet I look like a dork. I think I need to go change-" Willow's excitement had turned into nervousness, and she turned in mid-speech and attempted to head to her room to throw something else on.

"Willow!" Xander said, stopping his best friend from going anywhere, "Your friend-"

"Lady Love," Dawn corrected and stuck her tongue out at Willow, who tried to say something in protest.

"-Right; your Lady Love is waiting out there, and you need to open the door for her," Xander said before Willow could say anything, and after a second of Willow not doing anything, he added and lightly pushed Willow towards the door, "Preferably before the vamps get her."

"O-okay," Willow replied meekly, and she turned the doorknob, pulling the door open.

Oh, good goddess. was the only thing that came to the redhead's mind when she saw the woman in front of her.

---

"Um, h-hello, Willow," Tara managed to choke out as the door was pulled open. She had been staring in awe at Willow for the first second - heck, she was still in awe - but she knew she had to greet her hostess. And it was always better sooner than later, right?

"Hey, Tara," Willow greeted in reply, a little breathless. A smile formed on her face and she stepped to one side to allow the blonde woman in, "Er, come on in."

"Thank you," came Tara's reply as she smiled shyly at Willow and what must have been her friends. She then glanced around the house and said, "Your house is beautiful..." _Like you._ "Very contemporary."

"Thanks," Willow replied and then fell silent.

"Well, Willow," Dawn began, trying to lighten the tension in the room, "I think Xander was right about, you know, before the va-"

"VAN!" Buffy jumped in, clapping her hand on top of Dawn's mouth quickly, preventing her sister from mentioning the vampires. The Slayer shrugged sheepishly in reply to Tara's amused look and explained, "The, um, van was, um... uh..."

"Broken down. The van broke down," Xander added helpfully.

"Van? You got a van?" Anya, coming into the room, asked curiously.

"No, um, yes; I'll tell you later," Xander replied.

"Um, _before_ we got into the conversation about a certain van," Willow began with a lot of emphasis, speaking to Tara, "I was going to introduce you to everyone." She paused and then continued, saying the person's name whenever she pointed to one of her friends, "That's Xander, Anya, Buffy, and Dawn. They're all idiots, so don't listen to them."

"Hey! I resent that!" Xander said, pointing accusingly at Willow.

"Yeah! And after all the cleaning we've done for you and your friend-" Anya added.

"Lady Love," Dawn coughed, receiving a glare from Willow, a raised eyebrow from Tara (the blonde woman wasn't sure if she had heard quite correctly), and a smack on the arm from Buffy.

"-Without money or goods for pay!" Anya continued smoothly.

"Shall we have dinner, then?" Willow turned to Tara, ignoring most of what had just been said by Tara and Anya.

"Sure," Tara replied, and allowed Willow and her friends to lead the way.

---


	2. And More of the Van

**Untitled Remedy  
by TheAgonyofBlank**

**Chapter 2**

**Chapter 2: ... And More of the Van**

Author's Note: I apologize for the strange ending.

* * *

  


"I'll be right back - with dessert, too," Willow grinned cheerfully as she collected the last of the dinner plates, risking a quick and shy glance at Tara (that did not go unnoticed by her friends) before she excused herself, heading into the kitchen. The redheaded Wicca was terribly glad she had managed to get away from the blonde woman; she didn't think she could stand another moment sitting right next to such a beauty and resist touching her smooth skin... feeling her silky hair... or... _Okay. Stop there, Willow. Don't need to fantasize about a woman you barely know; nope! Better switch seats with Buffy when you get back to the table. Sitting with Dawn and Anya will do you better good tonight._ And she immediately busied herself with looking for the dessert. _Where was it?!_

As soon as Willow had left, an awkward silence descended upon the room. Each person could find nothing to say to the other, no matter how hard they racked their brains. A few more seconds of silence passed, and just as they all gave up on breaking the silence, a voice suddenly called out from the kitchen ("Dawnie!") and caused them to jump slightly in surprise.

"What?!" Dawn called back, her heart still beating wildly from the very-recent shock.

"Where's the dessert?" Willow asked loudly from the kitchen.

"In the oven!" Dawn answered just as loudly, before she added to those at the table as a side note, "I hope she knows where _that_ is."

Xander, Buffy, and Anya snickered at that, while Tara couldn't help but grin.

"You see, our Wills... doesn't cook a lot. She isn't that great of a cook," Xander explained helpfully.

"That's an understatement. Xander's being nice," Anya stated.

Tara smiled with a quirked eyebrow, as though gesturing for them to further explain.

"Anyway," Buffy began and directed her next comment at Tara, attempting to start a conversation, "Willow was telling us that you write."

"Yeah, and she was also telling us how hot y-" Dawn began, but she caught the many death glares that were sent her way, widened her eyes in slight surprise and asked, "What? What did I say?"

"So, what exactly do you write about?" Buffy continued before Tara could react (by saying anything, anyway), sending one last glare to her sister and quickly breezing over the comment the littlest one had almost let slip.

"Witchcraft," Tara replied, not without a smile.

"Xander," Anya began as she found what she deemed a suitable and interesting topic, interrupting the conversation with a rather commanding tone, "Please tell me about the van you bought for me."

The silence was diminishing, and that was a good thing.

"Uh," Xander was unsure of how to handle this and decided to fall back on the simplest approach, "Ahn, honey, let's talk about this later. I'm sure Tara has many more interesting stories to tell and would rather tell them instead of listening to us talking about a van." ..._that doesn't exist._

"No, I'd like to-" Anya paused as something suddenly dawned on her, "You're changing the topic!" Anya then turned to Buffy, Dawn, and Tara (who all wore looks of amusement on their faces) for support, protesting, "He's changing the topic!" She paused again, before adding with a short glance at Tara, "Besides, Tara doesn't mind hearing about the nice van you bought for me."

"I really don't," Tara replied honestly, chuckling slightly at Anya's directness.

"Well," Xander began, racking his brains desperately, "It's a... umm... A very nice van. Where's Willow?" Xander, again attempting to change the topic, called out, "Willow!"

"Hang _on_! I've almost got it!" came the reply.

"Glad she found the oven," Dawn joked, causing the four others at the table to giggle appreciatively.

After having had her fair share of giggles, Anya still refused to be deferred by this momentary change-of-subject and turned to Xander, questioning insistently, "What colour?"

"Huh?" Xander asked, pretending to be lost.

"The car," Anya sighed exasperatedly.

"Blue! Blue," was Xander's hurried reply.

"I don't like blue."

"Honey, it was the only one left. And it broke down as soon as I tried to drive it." _Oh, that's really realistic, Harris._ "But anyway, it's very spacious inside; you'll like it much better than the other-"

"Oh, so you mean we can have better sex in a bigger car?" Anya asked loudly and without embarrassment, then turned to the three girls at the table, "It's hard to copulate in a small car. There's not enough space."

Buffy spat out her water; Dawn coughed; Tara stared in surprise; Xander turned beet red and stammered, "A-Anya, we've talked about this before. Remember private lives that our friends would rather _not_ know about?"

"Yes," Buffy agreed with her best guy friend, getting up from the table to get paper towels from the kitchen to clean up the mess she had made.

"Really, Anya," Willow began with slight distaste as she brought in the dessert - wonderful apple pie, "I'd think you'd have learnt all this by now... What with not being a venge-" Willow stopped herself in time and corrected, "What with being in the U.S. of A. for... what now? Six years?"

"There's nothing wrong with being open and honest about everything," Anya shot back sullenly, and then brightened, "Hey - we could even trade sex tips." And before anyone could stop the ex-vengeance demon, she was on a roll, "Like Xander and I, we find it best to do it somewhe-"

"Anya! Stop!" Buffy nearly yelled. She knew she wasn't the only one who preferred not to hear about Anya and Xander's overly-active sex life; Tara was wearing a look of both embarrassment and amusement on her face - as though she couldn't decide whether she was more disturbed or amused.

"Okay, okay," Anya backed off, turning her attention back onto the pie that was now in the middle of the table, "Shall we eat pie, then?"

"I made it," Dawn piped up, speaking for the first time since the conversation about the van. The girl decided to put herself to good use and sliced the pie into as equally-sized slices as she could manage and handed one slice on a plate to each person.

"It's really good, Dawn," Tara complimented the girl as she sampled some of the yummy goodness that was apple pie.

"Yeah, better than what I can attempt to make," Willow murmured softly and inaudibly, glancing over at Tara.

"Thanks," Dawn, who hadn't heard Willow, grinned as she started on her own slice, before silence fell upon the room again as everyone fell to eating their pie slices.

* * *

  


"Oh, Buffy," Anya started as she realized what time it was - 9p.m., "You need to go..."

Buffy raised a quizzical eyebrow as Anya made strange gestures with her hands.

"...Oh, right," Buffy finally caught on. Anya was helpful at times, whether anyone wanted to admit it or not, "I need to go see those friends of mine."

"Uh, what kind of friends, Buff?" Xander questioned, slightly worried. After all, the way he read it, Anya's gestures implied that Buffy had to see an orgasm friend. He thought Buffy would tell them if she ever had a boyfriend - or just an orgasm friend. Then again, she hadn't told them of Spike those years ago...

Dawn let out a sigh. Sometimes Xander was a little slow on catching onto things.

"Those friends of mine who don't like getting tans," Buffy said, putting a lot of emphasis into her words. She didn't want to have to go into more detail than that; Tara would probably think they were all crazy, and she didn't want to scare her best friend's prospective girlfriend away.

"Oh," Xander understood.

Tara was now the only one who didn't know exactly what was going on, but if Buffy needed to see a friend of hers, then she should definitely go. After all, it was never nice to keep a friend waiting.

"Buffy is strange," Willow commented lightly, jokingly, as the Slayer took her hasty leave.

"Buffy is nice," Tara corrected gently, smiling.

"Buffy's tried to kill me," Anya said, and then at Willow, Xander, and Dawn's looks, she corrected herself, "Metaphorically, I mean."

"Um," Tara began, clearing her throat, "Is t-there anything you guys would like to... uh, tell me?" She had noticed some strange behaviour that went on throughout the evening.

"Nope! What? What's there to tell? Is there something to tell?" Willow babbled, her hands flailing all over the place.

"I was just asking," Tara smiled reassuringly and took one of Willow's hands in hers to calm the redheaded Wicca down.

"Oh..." _Wow... She should just hold my hand some more... No, wait... Where's the hand going?_ Willow frowned slightly as Tara let go of her hand, and for a moment she did nothing but frown, before she slowly and tentatively reached out and took Tara's hand again.

Tara smiled.

--- back 

next 


	3. See You Soon

**Untitled Remedy  
by TheAgonyofBlank**

**Chapter 3**

**Chapter 3: See You Soon**  
  
---  
  
_Ring! Ring!_  
  
"Nghhhh..." Willow moaned quietly as she turned over in bed, covering her head with her fluffy white pillow in a futile attempt to block out the annoying ring of the telephone. _Who, in their right mind, on earth would call at this hour of the early, early - May I say early again? - morning?_ Of course, the sun was already shining brightly outside; in fact, the great ball of fire was already high in the sky. It was near noon, but the redheaded Wicca did not care to know that. Sleep was the simple thing she needed, and she would get it; if not today, then... some other time. Perhaps the next day.  
  
_Ring!_  
  
"Unghhh..." Willow groaned, a little louder this time, as she lifted the pillow from her head and flung it down next to her, before sleepily extending an arm as she reached for the still-ringing phone by her bed. Groggily, she spoke into the receiver, "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, sleepyhead!" came an affectionate, cheerful, and familiar voice from the phone.  
  
"Gnnghhh," Willow, realizing it was Tara (and glad that it was her and not anyone else), grumbled in reply before snuggling deeper under the covers of her bed.  
  
"I really hope you didn't stay up too late. I've told you before, and I'm sure you don't need me to tell you again," Tara said with concern, waiting patiently for a reply from the lovely but undoubtedly sleepy and perhaps somewhat cranky redhead. However, when she received none, she spoke again, this time not without a small sigh, "All right. Have it your way then. I'm coming over in about five or ten minutes. Let me in, okay?"  
  
Through her sleepiness, Willow still could imagine the pout forming on the blonde's face as she spoke those words. But the only reply the redheaded Wicca gave was, "Unnngah."  
  
A giggle sounded from the other end, and as the blonde witch hung up, she said, "See you soon, sleepyhead," resisting the urge to add a little 'I love you' after that. Tara wasn't sure if Willow liked her in that way, and she didn't want to find out just yet. Things were going fine the way they were; there was no need to go ruin it all.  
  
"Gnngh," Willow mumbled yet another strange sound, as if in answer, as she hung her phone up and allowed her mind to drift off to the land of the strawberries...  
  
_Ring! Ring!_  
  
Willow groaned, louder this time. _Goddess, who can it possibly be now?! Does anyone have any respect for a sleeping Wicca these days?_ The phone rang again. _Well, apparently not._ The call from Tara had been pleasant and welcome, despite Willow's general lack of understandable answers, but all she had wanted was to sleep. Right now, however, she only wanted to sleep until the beautiful blonde came knocking on her door. Which would mean she would have to wake up, but that could be done. Besides, if she had a lack of motivation for answering the door, she knew that Tara could easily unlock it (with a quick spell) and come into her room if she ever got too tired of waiting for Willow to come down the next century.  
  
_Ring!_  
  
_No! Stop ringing; go ring on someone else's phone. I'm too tired. And lazy. Now go away!_ Willow thought to herself, her mind clouded with thoughts of rest as she again covered her head with the fluffy pillow.  
  
_Ring! Ring! Ring!_  
  
That was one insistent phone. Either that, or it was one insistent person who called so that the phone would ring insistently. Yes, the latter was definitely it - or so Willow decided.  
  
Sitting up and leaning against the headboard, Willow took a quick moment to rub her eyes in a sleepy fashion before picking up the phone and yawning, "Helloooooooo...?"  
  
"Willow?" a familiar, long-time-not-heard (by Willow, at the very least) voice came from the receiver, making Willow's eyes widen slightly.  
  
A pause ensued.  
  
"Fred?" Willow finally managed to ask with slight confusion, though the sleep was not gone from her voice as she wondered why her ex-girlfriend had decided to call.  
  
"Um, yes, it's me," Fred began awkwardly, "I- You sound like you're asleep. Did I wake you? I'm really sorry if I did; I know I shouldn't have... But I just didn't think that, you know, you'd be asleep since it's noon and all-"  
  
"It's fine, Fred," Willow replied, a small smile beginning to show on her face as she recognized the signs of Fred-babble, though Fred tended to go on babbles about mathematical equations and scientific things more often than... non-scientific or non-mathematical matters. Then she asked, "So, why'd you call?"  
  
"We need some help in L.A."  
  
---  
  
Knowing that Willow was more than likely still snoozing in bed, Tara unlocked the door to Willow's house and entered before heading straight for the emerald-eyed Wicca's room. Peering in, she was more than a little surprised to see the redhead already up and about, throwing various items of clothing into a suitcase.  
  
"Up already?" Tara called, a pout playing at her lips, "And here I thought I would get to haul you out of bed... I have to say I'm impressed, though."  
  
Willow brightened considerably at the sound of Tara's voice and resisted the urge of running over and hugging and kissing and smothering her friend of two weeks now. Instead, she turned to face the woman and smiled brightly despite herself. Before Tara got the chance to ask, Willow decided to explain her packing, "I need to go to L.A. for a little while - a week or two at most."  
  
"Oh," Tara replied softly, a small frown creasing her face as she wondered why the other woman _needed_ to go to Los Angeles. _What's so special there? Or, dare I ask, who's so special there?_  
  
"Hey," Willow said, reaching for the blonde woman as she noticed the look on her face, "You okay? You look kinda... spacey."  
  
"Yeah," Tara replied, "I mean, yeah, I'm fine." _Not really. Why do you have to go now? Who's in L.A.?_ "Is it a photo shoot?"  
  
"No," Willow answered, looking carefully at Tara as though debating what she should say - and what she should leave out, "Remember, the other day, when I told of Buffy's ex? The vampire Angel?"  
  
"Yes," Tara replied slowly as she recalled what Willow had told her that day. She remembered thinking how Willow and her friends led such exciting and different lives. _It must be very interesting. And fun. And dangerous, too._  
  
"Well, he and his gang over there need my help. Some witchy stuff, along with the tech," Willow explained as she closed the distance between Tara and herself, squeezing the beautiful blonde's hand gently, "I go and help with both problems; it's like killing two birds with one stone."  
  
---  
  
"I wish you didn't have to go," Dawn muttered, not inaudibly, into Willow's ear as the Wicca pulled her into a tight hug,  
  
"Why can't they pay someone else to fix their problems?" Anya, overhearing Dawn, couldn't help but agree with the girl and decided to voice her thoughts. _Nothing,_ she thought, _cannot be solved without money._  
  
"Fred said they needed someone they could trust," Willow replied as she turned to smile at Anya.  
  
"What kind of a name is 'Fred', anyway? It's a boy's name, and even I know that!" Anya exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips and waiting expectantly for an answer.  
  
"It's a nickname," Willow couldn't help but grin. Anya was the comic relief around here. Actually, both she and Xander were, but Anya just made the more, uh, direct comments.  
  
"What does it stand for?" Anya asked.  
  
"Winifred."  
  
"Well, what kind of a name is _that_?!"  
  
"We'll see you in a week, Wills," Xander grinned fondly at Anya as her placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her curious and demanding self down, "Maybe two."  
  
"I still don't see how you could date someone named 'Fred', or 'Winifred,'" Anya paused for a moment, and then brightened as she patted Willow's shoulder awkwardly, "But anyway, have fun and good luck."  
  
"Yup. Definitely. Now go save lives in L.A., okay?" Buffy added, hugging her best friend tightly to her.  
  
Dawn nodded in agreement.  
  
"Nothing to worry about; I'll try. Wait... Save lives? I don't save lives," Willow stopped suddenly, "Well, I do, but not there. You don't think they're expecting me to- They can't! Fred would've-"  
  
"It was a... figure of speech," Buffy reassured her friend, "As in, I didn't mean it literally."  
  
"Well," Anya butted into the conversation, "Go have fun with your girlfriend. Have make-up sex. You will both be happy, I'm sure," Anya smiled cheerfully, oblivious to Tara's stricken look (then again, no one but Willow seemed to notice Tara's look).  
  
"You have a-?" Tara began, deciding it was best to avoid (and just blatantly ignore, in general) the subject of Willow + Fred = Possible Make-Up Sex. "I didn't think Fred was..." Tara allowed her voice to trail off. _Oh, you're pathetic, Maclay. Ever since they first mentioned Fred was a girl you've wondered and thought about her being Willow's girlfriend..._  
  
"No!" Willow protested, "She's just a friend. And there will be no... There will be none of _that_."  
  
"It's okay, you know, if she's your girlfriend," Tara replied quietly, not meeting Willow's eyes.  
  
Suddenly everyone got what was going on.  
  
"She's just a friend," Willow reaffirmed, horrified that Tara could think otherwise.  
  
"Yeah..." Anya muttered, glancing quickly at Willow, "That's what they all say. Until they have make-up sex. Well, then again, some still say it after they have make-up sex..."  
  
"Ahn! Honey! Please, stop," Xander pleaded with his girlfriend. He knew the situation didn't need to be any worse than it already was.  
  
Anya folded her arms across her chest, almost defensively, but said no more. She did allow herself one more thought on that matter, though, that tied in to her last sentence: _Exes are always that._  
  
Choosing to breeze past Anya's last comment, Willow turned to Tara and gave her a smile, placing a light kiss on her forehead.  
  
"See you soon."  
  
With that, the redhead stepped back and held onto her medium-sized baggage, and the next moment, she was gone, leaving a slight wind where she had stood just moments ago.  
  
--- 

back 

next 


	4. Los Angeles

Chapter 4:

A/N: I'm no longer writing this story, but I decided just to post the following few chapters because they were already written, and just wasn't working for me those few years ago (lol)... Well, lemme know whatcha think!

---

"Ee-yow. That was..." Although the mutter was directed to herself, Willow spoke loudly enough so that all in the room could hear her. She allowed her sentence to go unfinished as she unceremoniously dropped her bag onto the floor with a rather loud i>thud /i> and put a hand to her head. She hadn't had to perform any big spells - or anything of the teleportation variety, for that matter - for quite a while now (it wasn't as though she teleported around the movie set) and was feeling a little light-headed. She took a moment to try and shake the light-headedness off, not noticing the two others in the room who had been beaming at her ever since she first arrived a mere two seconds ago. For a moment, she just swayed on the spot.

"Looks like she doesn't need this," Lorne, one of the two who was in the room, gestured towards the cup of water that was sitting on a desk - Angel's desk, to be more specific.

"Willow?" Fred asked with concern, unintentionally ignoring Lorne. It was obvious and expected that the Wicca was drained, but there was something more than just that. Willow seemed to wear a somewhat pained expression on her face, and Fred's initial delight was now turning into worry.

_Fred,_ Willow thought to herself, and just then, her legs gave way. _And I thought I was fine, too..._

"Willow!" Fred exclaimed, worried and somewhat horrified, as she attempted to rush over to catch the falling redhead. She was beaten to it by Lorne, who had been standing closer to the witch, and flashed the ever-helpful and -cheerful Host a grateful smile (to which he nodded in reply). Fred carefully led Willow over to a nearby seat as Lorne took the pre-prepared cup of water and handed it to the witch.

"Thank you, Lorne," Willow gratefully accepted the cup of water and downed it in two huge gulps. She felt the touch of Fred's cool hand on her warm and sweaty forehead and let out a small sigh. She had made it here... safely. Sort of.

"Will," Fred, using what had been (and still was) her favourite nickname for Willow, began as she felt Willow's forehead, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Better? Yes; much better," Willow managed to say as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back to take a short rest to try and regain more of her energy.

"I did the calculations," Fred felt a strong need to say something - anything - as she watched Willow close her eyes and try regain her energy. She knew Willow didn't mind her talking; she never had. Breathing in slowly, Fred continued, this time babbling on about the mathematic calculations she had made in hopes of drowning out some of the silence in the room, "You arrived much earlier than I expected. According to my calculations, you were supposed to take half an hour to get from Sunnydale to here," Fred paused thoughtfully for a moment, before continuing, "Well, then again... I i>did /i> expect you to leave Sunnydale-" Fred checked her watch, "-in exactly two minutes. So, really, you're early. Did it take you thirty minutes?"

With her eyes still closed, Willow smiled and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know how long it had taken her to arrive, but to herself, it hadn't seemed all too long. Still smiling (but now with open eyes), Willow checked her watch and replied, "I'll let you know the exact time when I find out. But as to why I'm early... You said you needed help. I mean, you know, you guys in L.A."

"We do," Fred replied, "And when you feel better-"

"Which, by the way, we hope is _now_," Cordelia, who had just entered the room with Angel, Wesley, and Gunn, interrupted.

"You're back," Lorne stated unnecessarily, "I was wondering how long you would be."

"Sorry; we just had to administer another dose of i>that /i> tranquilizing drug to the vampire," Gunn explained, before turning to Willow, "You're early. Fred said-"

"I know," Willow grinned slightly, "Fred told me - she calculated and stuff. Turns out I left early. Anyway, hi."

"Glad you're here in one piece," Angel smiled as he approached Willow's baggage and moved it out of the way.

"Yes, it's good to see you," Wesley added.

"Especially since I can help restore someone's soul and make sure the computers start functioning normally, huh?" Willow joked.

"That's just an added bonus," Cordelia said, grinning.

"When you feel better," Fred repeated gently, bringing Willow and the rest of the Fang Gang back to the matter at hand, "You can perform the curse."

"Give me the incantation for the curse," Willow said, and it was more of an order than anything else. Her tone held authority, and Fred walked over to Angel's desk, where the book lay, and retrieved the book, placing it in Willow's hands and pointing to the curse.

A few moments of silence passed as Willow quickly read over the spell, and a frown appeared on the Wicca's face as she read further. Finally, she looked at her friends and pouted slightly, "This requires dead frog. I don't like frogs - dead or alive."

Silence ensued, and everyone turned to stare at her, all of them thinking the same thing: _So what?_

"Jokes aside," Willow spoke again, causing the others to breathe a sigh of relief; they had really thought that she might not perform the curse, "It's not an easy curse."

Another moment of silence.

"We're talking about cursing a powerful vampire... Giving said powerful vampire a soul. And this curse - it's much more complex than any other kind of soul curses I've seen," Willow said.

Yet another moment of silence.

And then Cordelia spoke, "It's a powerful vampire, like you said, and we weren't sure if a simple soul curse would work. Angel said that stronger vampires were able to resist weaker soul curses. Besides, you cursed Angel with a soul in your Junior year of High School... Then you cursed him again later. You can teleport. You did other, major witchy mojo, too. Basically, what I'm saying is: You're a powerful witch."

"Well," Willow started, feeling a bit more confident after Cordelia's short but nonetheless encouraging speech, "I'll need help."

Instantly, Willow wished that she had Tara here with her to help with the curse; she knew that, with the other witch's help, the curse would go much more smoothly, and much quicker, as well. However, Tara was not here, and she would have to find someone suitable. She fixed her gaze on Fred; out of the entire Fang Gang, Fred would be of the most help to the curse Willow was going to perform.

"Why do you need help?" Cordelia questioned, honestly curious, "You've done it alone before..."

"Cordelia, if this is as important and urgent as you all are making it out to be, which I'm sure it is, by the way, please don't argue. I'll need all the energy I can get... i>Without /i> violating anyone, and I think Fred's willing to help me," Willow explained as simply as she could, giving Fred a questioning glance.

"I'm willing," came Fred.

"Violating someone?" Cordelia asked, making a face, "Sounds skanky. Do I really want to know what that really-"

"It's taking energy from a person without their consent," Willow sighed, interrupting Cordelia before she could say any more, "I tend to do that sometimes, and it's not pleasant."

"Oh."

---

"Are they done yet?" Gunn asked as he paced in front of the door that led to the room in which Willow and Fred were preparing - and then performing - the curse. He didn't mean to sound impatient or anything of the sort; he was merely worried that harm might befall either Fred or Willow - perhaps even the both of them.

"Well, if they i>were /i> done, I'm sure they'd be out here with us - and not in there with a crazy vampire," Wesley stated,

"They're safe," Angel said, though whether he was trying to reassure Gunn or was merely stating something like he would a fact was unclear; the expression on his face was unreadable, "Dru is asleep."

"What if she wakes up?" Gunn asked.

"She's tied up," Angel stated.

"They still should let us go in there..."

"If you want to go in there and get the energy sucked out of your lively body, be my guest. Willow wants to keep us safe; she wants us out here because she thinks it will lessen the chances of her drawing our power," Cordelia explained with a hint of impatience. As three enquiring faces turned her way, she blinked and added, "What? She told me!"

The four of them fell silent, hoping that Willow and Fred were working the curse - and hoping that the curse would work.

"Do you guys-" Gunn, who was standing next to the door, began, pulling at the collar of his shirt. The room was growing from cool to warm, and then from warm to painfully hot, before the intense heat suddenly dissipated. All this had happened in a split second, leaving four sweaty and bewildered people (who had fallen flat on their backs) to wonder exactly what had happened, though they all knew it had something to do with the curse.

A moment later, a dishevelled Willow and an equally dishevelled Fred came out of the room, looking around rather apologetically at the four who had patiently waited outside of the room and had, by now , fallen to the floor.

"Sorry," Willow was the first to speak, "Like I said, the curse was very powerful."

Fred nodded silently in agreement, running a hand through her messy hair.

"And, what? We can't just be lying down here, relaxing?" Gunn shot back jokingly as he got up and brushed himself off.

"That would be lying," Willow managed a grin.

---

"So," Fred smiled as she sat on the edge of Willow's bed, "Are you gonna get some much-needed and -deserved rest?"

"Mmm... That would be nice," Willow sighed as she rested her head on the pillow, "But get me up when you guys get dinner."

"Okay. You have a few hours to sleep, then. Getting more sleep is better, though I hope you can sleep tonight. I've read that - and experienced first hand - sleeping in the afternoon can screw up your internal clock. But if you're this tired, then I suppose you can sleep forever, huh?" Fred grinned, "It feels like that to me; and I didn't help with the curse that much. You had to teleport here, too... And you have to fix the computer problem, tomorrow or something, like Angel said - I've tried, but I can't do it. Not that I'm any good at that stuff. I can't imagine what you feel like."

"I'll be fine," Willow couldn't help but grin as well, "After you give me a century or two of rest."

Fred smiled in reply and got up to leave, but Willow stopped her with a question, "Stay with me?" She pointed to the extra bed next to "her" bed in "her" room (aka one of the guest rooms they had in the Wolfram and Hart building).

"Okay, but don't blame me if I don't get you up for dinner!"

---


	5. Stupid Things Said, Stupid Things Done

**Chapter 5: Stupid Things Said, Stupid Things Done**

---

Approximately nine hours had passed since Willow's hasty leave for the City of Angels, but a certain someone already missed the redheaded Wicca much, much more than the others did. Tara Maclay's thoughts lay mainly on Willow as she walked along the streets of Sunnydale, very much unalone. Tara, as well as Anya, Dawn, and Xander, had decided to accompany the Slayer on her nightly patrol. Buffy, Dawn, and Tara were walking ahead, doing their best to look for vampires over the loud whispers of Anya and Xander, who were lagging a few feet behind. The couple apparently didn't think their words could be heard clearly.

"Xander," Anya hissed as she sent a penetrating look to her boyfriend, "Why did we have to come patrol with Buffy? Why can't we have sex right now?"

Buffy, Dawn, and Tara shared similar and knowing looks at this, but upon deciding it was best to hear what amusing comment Anya now had to say, they kept their silence.

"Because our friends are here," Xander sighed, whispering his reply. Because he didn't think he and his girlfriend could be (and were being) overheard, his cheeks held no signs of red blush, "Besides, now is here. And here is... a street next to a cemetery. A very creepy cemetery."

"But Willow is having good, hot, lesbian sex," Anya whined, her tone rising, "Why can't we do that, too? Well, not hot, lesbian sex. Hot, straight-people sex."

"Honey, Willow is not- And even if she were, which she isn't because we all know she likes someone else, she wouldn't be having it in a ceme-"

"Willow likes someone?" A pause, and then, gesturing one hand to Tara's turned back, continued, "Oh, right. _Her_."

"Yes, and _her _name is-"

"I know what her name-"

"Guys," Buffy piped up from the front, "Please shut up. We can hear you from here."

"Okay," Anya agreed, but when she turned to speak to Xander, her voice was much louder and more forceful, "You're coming home with me, and you'd better give me lots of orgasms - like the ones Willow are getting." She yanked Xander down the street in the opposite direction, heading towards his house. "Bye, Buffy."

"Well," Buffy began, not bothering to say, 'goodbye,' "That was-"

"Very Anya," Dawn finished for Buffy.

Both of them turned to Tara, almost as though they expected her to say or do something, but the woman kept her eyes on the ground, her blonde locks covering most of her features and preventing Dawn and Buffy from seeing her eyes. But she truly hoped that Anya was wrong, for though she loved for Willow to be happy, thinking that the redhead was with someone else simply hurt far too much.

---

Fred awoke in the dark room to the sound of falling raindrops and a growling stomach. Pushing the covers off her head, the dark-haired woman yawned before turning her head to peer at the digital clock, which flashed the numbers "3.04" in red across the LCD screen, by the bedstand. She sat up in shock as she realized she was most definitely late for work with Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn; they usually started work right after sundown. And Fred could tell by looking out of the open blinds that this was definitely 3.04 in the morning, and not the afternoon. The young woman snuck a glance at the bed next to hers, expecting to find a certain sleeping redhead, but was surprised to be greeted with an empty bed. _Well... At least I don't have to worry about waking her up..._ Swinging her legs over the bedside, Fred got out of bed and, determined both to find Willow and to feed herself, decided to head for the lunchroom first. After all, from performing a huge teleportation spell to not eating after that, there was a huge chance that Willow would be in the lunchroom.

---

Willow wore a determined expression on her face as she sat alone at the reception desk, staring thoughtfully at the computer screen in front of her. Since she had first woken up about an hour ago, she had managed to stumble upon Cordelia, who was happy to help her get something to eat (and also to explain what problems Wolfram and Hart were experiencing with the computers) before the Wicca herself asked to get started on working out the computer problem. Occasionally, Cordelia stopped by to check on the redhead to see if she needed anything, but for the most part, Willow was left alone. And she was quick to find that there truly was, as was expected, a bug in the entire Wolfram and Hart computer network. Tapping her chin lightly, Willow thought of the different ways she could try to de-bug the system and wondered which one she should first try out. The Wicca was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice the faint _ding!_ of the elevator. She also failed to notice a brunette walking out of that elevator, and into the room.

"There you are!" the brunette called out with a note of happiness and triumph in her voice, startling the working Wicca (who, Fred noticed, had jumped up in fright), "Well, not that I actually had to look for you, because, hello? This was my first stop! I was actually getting dinner... Or maybe it's breakfast? I don't know. Not that I wasn't going to look for you, because I was... I was just hungry, and I thought I could get some breakfast, or dinner, or whatever, because I once read in-"

"If I'm hungry," Willow interrupted gently, grinning at Fred, "My stomach comes first. I work better with a full - or, well, slightly-full - stomach than an empty one."

"Sorry," Fred apologized, a slight giggle escaping her lips, "I was babbling again... And where are my manners? Would you like something to eat? Or drink?"

"I've eaten. And drunk...en?" Willow asked, "You know, I should know that."

"Well, just for the record, it's 'drunk,'" Fred grinned in reply just as her stomach let out a growl, "And my stomach will come first. I'll be back."

Willow nodded shortly as she watched Fred leave for the lunchroom, before her gaze drifted back down to the computer screen. She let out a small sigh, and then, as though a sudden inspiration had just struck her, she began typing away at the keyboard.

---

"Wow, Will, I think you can... uh..." Fred managed to prevent herself from giggling as she continued, "Slow down?"

"What?" Willow asked, looking up from the screen to give Fred a glance. The Wicca wanted to go back to Sunnydale; to go home... She missed it. Well, okay, she missed Tara, really, and she wanted to spend more time with the woman before she had to leave again, this time probably for a movie premiere. _Well, I can always invite Tara to come with me..._

"Nothing," Fred replied, raising the huge sandwich she had made for herself to her lips, before lowering it and correcting herself, "Well, not nothing. I'm just saying you can... slow down. We don't really need the computers right now."

"Maybe _you_ don't," came a voice, "But other people do."

"Hello to you too, Cordelia," Fred shot back, grinning at the other woman.

Cordelia smiled at Fred in greeting, and then turned to Willow, saying, "Just dropping by. Do you need anything?"

"No, but thanks, Cordelia," Willow replied, typing furiously.

Cordelia nodded and left.

"And your own personal... butleress?" Fred questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"You just eat," Willow retorted, grinning slightly though her eyes never left the computer screen.

---

The sun was setting in the sky, and the last rays of sunlight filtered through an office room window in the Wolfram and Hart building. However, not a trace of sunlight was to be found in the Wolfram and Hart lobby where both Willow and Fred were still sitting after more than twelve hours, working hard at debugging the system. Fred had just gotten out a thick book of different computer viruses propped up in front of her, and when she found symptoms in the book that matched the ones the computer system in Wolfram and Hart were experiencing, she would read out the virus name to Willow and tell her how to "fix" the problem (by reading from the book, of course).

"You know," Willow began after Fred read out what must have been the thousandth virus name, "We're trying to fix a bug... This has nothing to do with a virus."

"Oh," Fred replied, surprised, "There's a difference?"

"Yeah," Willow nodded, "A bug comes from a program - a _legitimate_ program - with some kind of logic error. Cordelia said that the senior partners at Wolfram and Hart sent you guys a program - to update an older program, so I'm thinking that's what had the bug."

"You should've told me that earlier, then I wouldn't have had to read through this," Fred sighed, shooting a look at the thick book as she slammed it shut and pushed it to another side of the desk. Gently massaging her temples, Fred took a moment to take a deep breath before she spoke again, "Now I'm thinking... Did the senior partners do this on purpose? I mean, it _has _been a few years since we separated from them..."

"And you guys just install a program they give you!" Willow demanded, a bewildered look settling on her face.

"Well, the older program was getting really old... And we were going to get the newer version that had recently come out onto the market, but the senior partners sent it to us... So we all decided it must be okay."

"Oh, goddess," Willow sighed, finding it hard to believe what she had just heard, "Didn't you learn anything from me? Never, ever install a program from your enemy - or enemies!"

"Well, they aren't exactly enemies. And I did try to warn Angel..." Fred began, "But then..."

"AH-HA!" Willow exclaimed loudly, slamming a fist on the table with an extremely loud _thump_ and causing Fred to jump (the brunette was pretty sure she saw a few happy sparks fly from Willow's hands as well), "I'VE FIXED IT!"

"Really?" Fred asked, sitting up in her seat as she leaned over, as though attempting to see how Willow had debugged the program.

"You know, this debugging thing - it''s not as exciting as I thought it would be," Cordelia, who again had just come by to check on Willow and Fred, commented lightly, running a hand through her dark hair.

Willow just glared.

---

"Yes; for the last time, Buffy, I'm almost home," Willow repeated into her handphone, sighing softly. Yet at the same time a grin appeared on her face; hearing Buffy's rising excitement was honestly amusing - the entire Scooby gang, Tara included, had apparently missed her a lot during her two days of absence. Shaking her head as Buffy asked another question, Willow replied, "Five minutes. I think..." Willow's voice trailed off as she turned to the dark-haired woman seated next to her, who nodded mutely. Clearing her throat, Willow spoke again, "Yes, Buffy, I should be home in five minutes."

A pause.

"No, don't tell anyone until tomorrow."

Another pause.

"Because it's one in the morning, Buffy! They don't need to be woken up for this... And besides, I'm tired."

Yet another pause.

"Yes, you can let them know tomorrow- Yeah, in the morning. I've got a surprise for you guys," Willow grinned cheerfully as she looked over at Fred, who was looking out of the window. Nodding slightly to an apparently-speaking Buffy, Willow ended the call as she said, "Me too. See you tomorrow."

Then the Wicca turned to Fred, grinning, "Are we there yet?"

---

"Will," Fred said softly, using a finger to gently prod a resting, close-eyed Willow's shoulder as the cab pulled into the redhead's driveway. The only response Fred received from the Wicca was a slight grumble, and letting out a small sigh of frustration, Fred ran her fingers along Willow's clothed belly, tickling her, and raised her voice and exclaimed loudly, "We're here!"

"Huh?" Willow muttered blearily, yawning, "Are we here?" Not waiting for a response, Willow added, "That was quick. I barely got any rest."

"Well," Fred began, teasing, "Maybe that's because it's only been approximately five minutes since you said, 'Are we there yet?'"

"All right, Miss Smarty-Pants," Willow sighed in reply as she got out of the cab and headed for her home, stopping only to thank and tip the driver, who had managed to get their luggage out of his trunk and place them on Willow's front porch in the time that Fred spent trying to get Willow up.

As the driver drove off into the night, Willow walked up to her front porch with Fred following behind. The two of them paused to get their baggage, before Willow unlocked the door to her home and they both stepped in.

"Home sweet home," Willow breathed.

---


	6. At Long Last

**Chapter 6: At Long Last**

Author's Note: Sorry for the wait; I've had this chapter ready for a few days now but my ISP was giving me problems. Also, did anyone catch the previous i>_Angel /i>_? Anyway, the Cordy in this fanfic still lives. :)

---

The sun shone brightly outside; an hour or two had passed since sunrise, but there was still a little while to go before noon came around: The sun still had a little way to go before reaching its highest point in the sky that day. A small breeze blew through Willow's open kitchen window, and the Wicca, who was standing at the stove making funnily-shaped pancakes (much like the ones Tara made for the redhead when she dropped by Willow's house some mornings) welcomed it with a small smile. Her heart leapt as she remembered, for the thousandth time that morning, that she would get to see Tara today, very, very soon. To tell the truth, she wanted to go over to the blonde's house right now, but she had a guest to tend to... And Willow was not usually one to ignore a guest. Flipping a large, funny-shaped pancake over as she attempted to clear her mind of Tara-esque thoughts, Willow called out to Fred, "Hey... Fred? If you could just set the table and get the juice..."

"It's been done," Fred replied simply, grinning as she poked her head through the kitchen doorway, breathing in the yummy and delicious smell of pancakes-in-making. She knew well that Willow generally wasn't that great of a cook, but this was one thing she seemed to be able to cook properly. As Willow said her thanks, the brunette cocked her head to one side, her grin growing larger as she strolled back into the dining room, rolling her eyes and jokingly saying with a melodramatic sigh, "What would you do without me, Will?"

A small pout formed on Willow's face. Not wanting Fred to win this verbal battle (which really wasn't a verbal battle), the redhead opened her mouth to retort when she was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. i>_Hah! Fred is saved by the bell... Wow, that was incredibly lame._ /i> The Wicca reached a hand out to turn the stove off so she could answer the door.

"I'll get it! You just keep cooking those yummy-smelling pancakes!" came Fred's enthusiastic voice, causing Willow to retract her hand and let out a small sigh.

Cooking it was.

That was, until she heard the familiar voice...

---

"Willow!" Anya exclaimed loudly in joy as the door was flung open, and the ex-demon immediately flung herself onto the woman she thought was Willow, causing the woman to gasp in surprise, before she realized that whoever she was hugging had dark hair... And that whoever she was hugging had a smaller frame - compared to Willow's, of course. Letting go and pulling away from the brunette, Anya frowned and accused, "You're not Willow."

"No," Fred replied with a sheepish tone, brushing her clothes off as she smiled unsurely in greeting as her gaze fell upon the four others who had accompanied the exuberant woman who had hugged her - one of whom she recognized as Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. i>Not that Buffy's the Slayer anymore... She's just one of many now, right? /i> Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Fred decided to extend a hand to the woman who had just hugged her accidentally, "I'm-"

"I know," Anya replied in a conspirational, yet clearly audible, tone. Just then, a sudden realization struck the ex-demon, and her tone changed from a secretive one to one that showed sheer excitement as she spoke triumphantly, easily oblivious to Fred's look of confusion, "I know! You must be Willow's orgasm friend! Her sex buddy!" Anya paused here and, before anyone could stop her, added as an afterthought, "Did you have good sex?"

"Erm," Fred began, left speechless at Anya's daring as a blush settled her face. Her mouth opened and closed soundlessly, and in the end, Fred decided it was best to remain silent, since she had no idea what she would say if she ever regained her speaking abilities.

"I'm sure she did," came Willow's voice, though the Wicca herself had not yet reached the entrance hall. She was getting a little exasperated with Anya and her constant prodding into her personal life; sometimes the ex-vengeance demon could be so much worse than the media. So she decided that she and Fred could easily play Anya's game. Why not go along with what Xander's girlfriend thought they did - just for a little while? The smirk that had formed on Willow's face while heading towards the entrance hall immediately faded and was replaced with a bright smile when she saw that Anya was not alone - that Buffy, Tara, Xander, and Dawn were with her.

"I- I didn't think you guys were here!" Willow squealed in delight, the playing of Anya's game momentarily forgotten as she allowed her friends in and pulling each of them into a hug, giving Tara a lingering hug, as she repeated, "You're all here!"

"We couldn't wait to see our Wills," Xander said in an affectionate, chipper tone as he gestured to the women around him. He took a sniff and turned to Willow, "What's that smell?"

"Willow's making pancakes," Fred explained.

"They smell like good ones," Buffy added.

"They're like the ones-" Fred began, but was interrupted by an insistent Anya.

"So did you have good sex?" the ex-demon asked Fred again.

"Well, um, I, uh," Fred stumbled, flustered. Why couldn't she get the words out? Nothing of the sort had happened between her and Willow; all it took was a quick, simple, i>"No" /i> on her part. As words still failed her, she looked to Willow for help.

"She did," Willow smirked smugly.

"Willow!" Fred admonished, "You're not helping!"

"I know," Willow replied airily, sticking her tongue out at her ex-girlfriend.

"You're impossible."

"Why, thank you, Miss Burkle."

Perhaps it was because the two women were too wrapped up in shooting remarks back to each other, or perhaps it was the fact that they remained good friends (even after the break-up), but whatever it was, neither Willow nor Fred noticed that their ongoing conversation sounded like a confirmation of the explicit - that the way they were talking made it sound as though the both of them had truly slept together.

"I knew it!" Anya exclaimed victoriously, pumping a fist into the air as she turned to Xander, "I told you they slept together! I bet they came back here last night and had sex together, too!"

A look that resembled heartbreak flashed across Tara's face for a fleeting instant but, before anyone could spot it, was very quickly replaced by a faux smile.

"Ahn," Xander began, "We don't know this."

"Yeah," Willow agreed, her brow furrowing, "You don't. Besides, I never-"

"But only people who sleep together can act like that! Well, besides Xander and me; we act different. But I've seen it on TV countless times, and I've seen it back in my vengeance days - with the happy couples, of course," Anya interjected, explaining.

"I never said Fred and I... made love," Willow shot back, remembering what Xander had told her many years ago: i>"If you're doing it, you should be able to say it." /i> Willow assumed that also included "if you have done it," because she certainly hadn't slept with Fred recently.

"Maybe you didn't make love; maybe love had nothing to do with it... Maybe you had crazy monkey sex!" Anya offered.

"Can we please not talk about this?" Dawn, desperately hoping to get Anya off the topic of Willow's sex life, pleaded.

"Please, let's stop," Buffy agreed, and then suggested, "Why don't we go eat pancakes?"

"If Willow has enough for all of us, she means," Tara added politely, sending a smile to Buffy, though her voice was devoid of emotion, causing Willow to cast her a look of genuine concern before nodding a, i>"Yes" /i> to Fred and the Scoobies as she led them towards the dining room.

---

A melodious tune that seemed to come from the kitchen suddenly started playing, causing everyone at the table to pause in mid-speech, mid-eat, or for some of them (mainly Anya, really), both. They all knew it was a phone, for it most certainly sounded like one, and they all had a guess to whose it was.

"Will?" Fred questioned as she realized why the ring sounded so familiar to her; Willow had been playing around with her phone's ringtones on the way home from the Sunnydale airport and, due to boredom, had decided to change her ringtone from a plain, normal, and boring i>ring! /i> to this tune. However, it was apparent that the green-eyed woman had forgotten this fact, for she wore a look of confusion on her face. So Fred took it upon herself to continue while still keeping her questioning tone, "Isn't that your cell phone?"

"Oh...! Right! Thanks!" Willow exclaimed as realization dawned on her, and she hastily excused herself from the table and headed into the kitchen, meekly adding to those at the table, "I changed the tune yesterday." A mere moment later, the same voice was heard, this time saying, "Hello? Willow Rosenberg here."

"I wonder who that is," Anya wondered aloud as she stabbed a fluffy pancake with her fork.

"Might be her parents," Dawn suggested, but the young woman was met with looks of i>"Yeah, right," /i> and many raised eyebrows. Sighing, Dawn added, "Okay, okay. I knew that probably wasn't who called, but you'd think her parents would at least call once in a while..."

"Well, they don't," Buffy said, her voice hardening. Dawn looked at her, and the Slayer shook her head slightly, softening her tone while still remaining firm and comforting, "She's got us now, and we've got her. Her parents are missing out, and that's their loss. You know that, right, Dawnie?"

"Yes, I know," Dawn replied softly, and although she said nothing more, the stubborn and protesting look on her face gave away the fact that she wanted to add something more.

"It could be her actor friends," Xander suggested cheerfully after a short moment of silence that had followed Dawn's last comment passed.

"Or just friends of the non-actor variety... That is not us," Tara added softly, smiling slightly.

"It's more likely to be her agent," Fred said, and she blinked multiple times as she realized everyone's attention was focused on her, their faces curious and eyes asking the question they wanted to voice. Licking her lips, Fred explained, "Uh- It always used to be her agent who called."

"The ex-girlfriend always knows best," Anya muttered quietly, unheard by the others for once. But that was mainly because Willow had just reentered the room and was being bombarded with loud questions from her curious friends.

"Who was that?" came Buffy.

"Was it an actor friend?" Xander asked.

"An orgasm friend, maybe?" Anya added after Xander.

"Whoa, questions!" Willow exclaimed, putting her hands up in front of herself, as though she were surrendering, "One at a time, please. I didn't get most of that."

"Was that an orgasm friend?" Anya repeated.

"That was the one part I got," Willow muttered, causing her friends to chuckle, "And honestly, Anya, how many 'orgasm friends' do you think I have?"

"Well, anyone could be your orgasm friend, really," Anya said, "I could, too."

"Willow, who was that?" Buffy interrupted, thankfully before Willow had the chance to retort, easily ignoring the look Anya was sending her.

"My agent, Claire," Willow, glad to avoid the topic Anya was trying to bring up, replied, causing heads to turn toward Fred. Noticing this, Willow asked, "What?"

"Fred was right; she told us it was your agent," Dawn explained.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised Fred remembers," Willow responded, "Claire called - and still calls - all the time. Or very, very often. Inconvenient times, too." At Xander's raised eyebrow, Willow added, "Not those kinds of 'inconvenient times,' Xander. Get your head out of the gutter. Correction: i>Heads /i> - i>All of you /i> get your heads out of the gutter. I meant when I'm sleeping, or eating breakfast, or when I'm busy doing something else... Things like that."

"So, what did she call you for this time?" Buffy questioned.

"Just to remind me that I had to go to L.A. the day after tomorrow for a movie premiere for i>Random Encounters /i>, a movie I co-starred in," Willow explained. She paused for a moment, before turning to Fred, "You can go back to Wolfram and Hart after the premiere."

"Okay," Fred replied, smiling. "Perfect, then. Since I just planned for a short visit here. Angel will be pleased."

"Has Fred already been invited?" Buffy asked curiously, pouting slightly, "Because-"

"No, Buff," Willow smiled, "She hasn't yet. I'm inviting all of you to come. Claire said it would be okay, as long as you guys went in another car."

"We can't walk down the red carpet?" Anya protested.

"Well, I asked Claire, but she decided against it. She said it would be better if I just went alone, or with a date, or something. The fewer people on the red carpet at once... That kind of stuff. And I didn't think you guys would want to walk down there by yourselves and have everyone stare at you blankly."

"Who wouldn't be staring at me?" Anya questioned, incredulous. Gesturing to the women around her, she added, "And them, too. We're all pretty-"

"Honey, I'm sure everyone would be staring at you," Xander reassured his girlfriend, placing a hand on hers, though whether it was to reassure her or to be more protective, no one really knew. Looking at his best friend, Xander repeated with a questioning tone, "Willow said something about a date?"

"Uh... I'd really rather not say anything about-"

"Ooh! Go with me!" Anya exclaimed excitedly, jumping from her seat.

"No," Willow replied pointedly, though her voice held an edge of amusement in it as she smiled at Anya.

"I can pay you! Or I can have sex with you! I can do both!" Anya offered.

"Anya!" Xander exclaimed, shocked. Besides the shock, however, he was very unwilling to let his girlfriend sleep with his best friend. That was just... Not right.

"What?" Anya turned to her boyfriend, "It's not like I like Willow or anything. Besides, I can learn things - positions - from her an apply it when we-"

"This has to stop now! You guys are disgusting!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Yeah, Anya! Stop!" Dawn backed her sister up.

"Well, what do you think, Willow?" Anya asked, just as cheerful as ever. Her eyes sparkled brightly as she awaited Willow's response.

"How about, 'no,' 'never,' and 'never-ever'?" Willow, deciding it was better not to joke with Anya in case she took it seriously, retorted, "Besides, you have Xander."

"I just wanted to walk down the red carpet, and it'd look better if you had a date, since your actor friends will probably all have dates," Anya said honestly, shrugging, "But it's your call. And loss."

"I've gone alone before."

"Really? I remember Fred going-"

"I don't want to go!" Fred managed to squeak out.

"Are you crazy?" Anya demanded.

"Yeah, are you crazy?" Willow asked.

Tara's face fell again. i>Goddess, Tara. Get a grip on yourself. Whatever made you think Willow could ever love you? Of course she'd want to go with Fred. /i>

"I meant as your date," Fred pointed out.

"Oh," Willow muttered sheepishly, "Sorry. I thought you meant you didn't want to go, period."

"Are you crazy? Go as her date!" Anya repeated, her comment directed at Fred, "You get to walk down the red carpet - with Willow!"

"We... We're not girlfriends," Fred stated simply.

"Well, you don't have to be girlfriends to be dates! But since you want to, then hurry up and become girlfriends again!" Anya exclaimed.

"We're not girlfriends," Fred repeated.

"Yes. We're not. See? She makes sense," Willow added supportively, "Thank you, Fred. Anya, you have to live in the now; the present - not the past. We haven't been girlfriends for a while now."

Tara looked up at this, her heart leaping as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Here was evidence that Willow and Fred really didn't sleep together - though there wasn't any reason for her to believe they had in the first place. i>_Oh, Tara... You think about these things far too much for your own good._ /i>

"Well, are you going dateless?" Anya pressed.

"No," Willow said defensively.

"Who are you asking, then?"

"Tara," Willow blurted immediately, and when she realized she had said that aloud, her cheeks flushed a deep red and she stuttered, "I, uh... Said that out loud, didn't I?"

By this time, Tara had managed to turn as red as Willow - perhaps even more so, and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she felt herself begin to heat up. Willow wanted to go with her? No one wanted to go anywhere with her during high school... But that was then, and this was now, was it not? She shyly glanced at the redhead, her thoughts running a mile a minute. i>_Wow. Oh, wow, oh wow, oh wow. Did she really say that? I must be dreaming._ /i> Tara pinched herself hard to make sure she _wasn't _dreaming, and jumped as she felt a sharp pain on her arm, causing Dawn to turn and look at her with a small, curious and happy smile. Tara could only smile sheepishly in return as she rubbed the pinched spot, thinking, i>_Oww... That hurt. But oh wow, wow, wow!_ /i> Of course, Tara did wish that she could think something other than i_>"Wow,"_ /i> but she was just too happy. Besides, it was difficult for her to think of anything under Willow's gaze.

"You did," Buffy grinned in answer to Willow's question as she cheered, "Way to go, Anya!"

"Thanks," Anya said cheerfully as she allowed Buffy to compliment her.

"Hang on... Did you guys set this up?" Willow asked, her eyes bulging.

"Nope," Buffy answered, "But way to go Anya, anyway!"

"My girlfriend finally got something out of you, huh, Will?" Xander teased, causing his best friend to blush even more - if that was even remotely possible, considering the redhead's face was already very flushed and heated.

Willow glanced around the table, and caught Fred's eye. The brunette nodded and smiled reassuringly.

"Er, well..." Willow began, looking at Tara and meeting the blonde's eyes, "So, um, will you go with me?"

And to Willow, the silence that followed was deafening. She could hear her heart thumping wildly and loudly against her chest and wondered what she would do if Tara said, i>_"No."_ i> Besides, she didn't even know if the woman liked her in that way. For all she knew, the blonde could be hitting on Anya. Or Xander.

"Yes," Tara finally replied, her cheeks red and her head giddy with delight.

"Huh?" Willow asked as she was brought out of her reverie.

"Yes, I'll go with you."

---


End file.
